Adhesive bandage



Sept. 22, 1959 c. w. SMITH ADHESIVE BANDAGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 21, 1959 ATTORNEY Sept. 22, 1959 c. w. SMITH ADHESIVE BANDAGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 21, 1959 acl/.

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Sept. 22, 1959 Q Wl SMITH 2,905,174

' ADHESIVE BANDAGE Filed May 21 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Tlc'lg;

INVENTOR. (f4/#0190 W/f'm/rf/ .United States Patent At() -ADHESIVE'SBANDAGE `Clilortl W.. Smith, Long Island City, N.Y., assignor -to rJohnson & Johnson, a corporation. of New Jersey -flApplcationlMay 21," 1959,y Serial v`No..*814',849

.12 Claims. (Cl. 12S-156) Theselbandages 'arelworn in public and, because such 'supercial lesions generally occur on unprotectedv exposed tareas, are frequently wor-non-areas-exposedto public view, such .as the hand, arrn,` leg, etc. -It' is therefore @frequently desirable that the-bandages bevas inconspicuous aas possible, except where the"bandagesarelfor small v.children who are anxious vv-to display --their cuts and rscratches.

It has heretofore been `proposedetomake-the flexible backingand adhesive of `transparent Vmaterials so that `tithe-bandagewould vbeless conspicuous whenworn. However, Ybandages in which vthe yflexible* backing and adhesive '-fwere' formedl of transparent materials -hadfthe disadvan- -1 yta-gt-:f--that the absorbent pad was` clearlyv visible through fthe atransparent adhesive-coated backing.

`rtbsorbent' pads are.v generally formed by folding 'back the` edges solas: tofavoid unraveling atf the edges and to apresentalsmoctth' and l. attractive surface. `With an opaque irbacking,A only the neat attractive face ofA the pad is'seen. sfHowever, with a transparent backing, the unattractive back portion of the pad'is'clearly visible. Also,f-when the irpadbecomesesoiled, fon example, with wound exudate, althezsoiled pad is clearly. visiblethroughthe transparent vlbacking, fpresenting aan'4 unsightly and unattractive apifpearance. A further. ditcultyis thatf when the adhesive 4hat athe edgef'of the bandagefbecornes soiled in-.use,v the soiled edge is clearly visible, adding furtherftothe un- .attractive aappearance: of the bandage.

-,Eventhoughiitfwas initiallytproposed to'make the labackingttransparentzso thatthe bandagewouldrbe -less .conspicuous, .the bandage was .substantially less attractive *when* Worniand, in manyuinstances,=becauseof vits unattractiveness, 1 was morefnoticeable Vthan bandages .using ,.an:opaquefilexible:adhesivecoated backing. AAsa result, flfevenszthough a llargeiproportionof the adhesive bandages presentlyfpreparedhave:flexible .backings made of inorffmallytransparent plastics, it'has been theY practice toadd 'z a:-pigment;or :pigments `to .the .plastic in; order to avoid the :unattractive-:appearance1 that would. result if aclear, :colorless .transparent .backing 'were .,used.

It is the object of the present inventionto'prepare adhesive :bandages-with transparentlm :backings in Whichthe absorbent Ypadfis .essentiallyhidden from the 'wiew .ofaany casual:;bserver. ,-Ittis 4:arfurtherobject to :nprepare anuadhesive bandage containing :markings thereamnroffsuch arznatureasto render ,-thefbandagelessnoticeable. It is also an object to prepare adhesive bandages ICC which, when applied to a skin surface, willblend into the skin background.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the .accompanying drawings, wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain-embodiments of this invention.

The above objects are accomplished and a bandage #both attractive in appearance and substantially :lessnoticeable, when worn, isobtained if the exible backing Vvand .-adhesive are made of transparent materials and thecbacking is provided with a seriestof flesh-colored markings so'dispersed as to provide alternate, colorless and {leshcolored areas. The markings may take any shape or form. They may be in the form of spaced continuous ordiscontinuous lines, either intersecting or non-intersecting,

l in theform of dots, circles, squares, letters, check marks,

or any other form which provides with the unmarked areas alternate clear and markedareas so that the surface colorunder the clear areas shows through the bandage and-thus appears to the eye of an observer to blend with the colory of the marked areas, making the bandage less conspicuous. .By ilesh-colored, as herein used, is meant any -color simulating that of the natural skin -of the .wearer and generally varying from a warm pink tov a tan or chocolate. A shade found to be most generally suitable V`is that obtained by blending iron oxide with a trace of .carbon black in the following proportions:

Parts yby weight fRust brown iron oxide 118 Ocheriron oxide 82 Carbon'black .l1

" be used.

When the backing is made of a transparent, virtually vcolorless material and marked in this manner, not only is the absorbent pad screened from View but the alternate colorless and esn-colored areas blend so well ywith the skin of the wearer that at a distance of a few feet it .is difficult to `determine any line of demarcationbetween rthe bandage and the uncovered skin. As a result, the

vso spaced that the transparent areas .are approximately .equal to the flesh-colored areas. However, the ratio of flesh-colored areas to clear areas in the marked pattern can varysubstantially and the over-all etfect ofl reducing conspicuousness still be obtained. The markings, however, should not be so large as to themselves becomeconspicuous at a few feet. It is preferred, therefore, that the markings not be much in excess of about ls inch in width and not be spaced more than about A inch fromy each other. In the preferred practice of the present invention, the flesh-colored markings consist of a series of parallel crossing lines, giving a crosshatched pattern. When the bandage is in strip form, the `lines preferably' intersect the parallel edges of the strip at an angle of about 45. Lines of varying thickness and spacing may It is generally preferred, however, not to use lines having a thick-ness much in excess of about 1A; inch or spaced-from each other more than about 1A inch.

=Where the lines are of uniform width, uniformly spaced .and crosshatched, the transparent area between the llines The invention is further illustrated by reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a strip bandage having markings on the otherwise transparent backing in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of lthe back of the bandage of Fig. l, the facing strips protecting the adhesive having been removed;

Fig. 3 is a view of the face of the bandage of Fig. 2, showing the absorbent pad;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the bandage of Fig. 2 somewhat enlarged;

Fig. 5 is a bandage identical to that of Figs. l through 4 with the exception that the markings are omitted;

Fig. 6 is a circular adhesive bandage wherein the markings are in the form of dots;

Fig. 7 is a square-shaped adhesive bandage in which the markings are made with alternate heavy and light lines; and

Figs. 8-17 and Sfr-17a illustrate a plurality of different types of markings on adhesive bandage strips and spots Bandages of the present invention are illustrated in Figs. l through 4 and 6 through 17, including the subfigures 8a through 17a. Fig. 5 is a View identical to Fig. 2 of a bandage which is the same as the bandage illustrated in Fig. 2, except for the omission of the fleshcolored markings of the present invention. Fig. 5 thus does not illustrate a bandage of the present invention but is included for the purpose of illustrating how readily visible the absorbent pad is when a transparent backing is used without the markings of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the adhesive bandage comprises a flexible, somewhat elastic, extensible, transparent backing 10 coated on one side with a pressure-sensitive, clear, colorless, transparent adhesive 11. The center of the `bandage contains an absorbent pad 12 secured by the adhesive to the backing. The pad is formed of cotton covered with a piece of gauze 13, the edges 14 of the gauze being folded under as illustrated in Fig. 5. The pressure-sensitive adhesive is protected by facing strips 15, preferably of the type described in Gross U.S. Patent 2,703,083. The ends 16 cover and protect the face of the pad 12. When the bandage is to be used, these protective strips are removed, exposing the pressuresensitive adhesive 11.

The transparent backing 10 is provided with a plurality of esh-colored markings. In a preferred form of the invention, these are crosshatched lines 17 spaced approximately 1/16 to 1/32 of an inch from each other as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The flesh-colored markings 17 together with the interposed transparent areas 18 cause the bandage, when worn, to blend with the skin of the wearerand become almost unnoticeable at a distance of a few feet. As previously stated, it has heretofore been proposed to make the fiexible backing and adhesive of transparent materials to make the bandage less conspicuous. However, the difficulty with bandages of this type, as illustrated in Fig. 5, is that the absorbent pad 13 is clearly visible through the transparent backing 10'. The fiesh-colored markings of the present invention, besides making the bandage blend with the background skin when worn, also hide the pad to the extent that an observer is hardly aware of the same, and any unattractive details of pad construction or soiling are completely hidden. This is Well illustrated by comparing the bandages of Figs. 2 and 5.

In Figs. 6 and 7, the bandages are of the spot type rather than of the strip type, illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4. In Fig. 6, the transparent flexible backing 19 is provided with a plurality of flesh-colored dots 20 which serve the same purpose as the flesh-colored crosshatched lines 17 of Fig. l. The area 21 between the dots is transparent. The bandage contains the conventional absorbent pad 22, hardly discernible because of the markings 20.

In Fig. 7, a somewhat different form of spot bandage is shown. This figure also illustrates a different marking design. The marking in this instance consists of alternate crosshatched broad lines 23 and narrow lines 24 with transparent areas 25 between. This bandage also contains the conventional absorbent pad 26, hardly noticeable because of the crosshatched lines 23 and 24.

Figs. 8 through 17 illustrate a series of square-ended adhesive bandages of varying markings and Figs. 8a through 17a illustrate round spot bandages having corresponding markings. These figures are essentially to scale, being based on photolithographic reproductions of film backings having different types of flesh-colored markings providing alternating clear and marked areas in accordance with the present invention. Since there is some tendency in the photolithographic reproductions, particularly with markings such as illustrated in Figs. 14 and 16, for the marked areas in the reproductions t0 run together, the following table is given setting forth the approximate percentage of clear and marked areas as obtained by photometric measurements on the backings used in preparing the gures.

Percent clear and marked areas of backings (Figures 8-17) Figure Percent un- Percent marked marked area area Although any flexible water-resistant transparent film may be used together with any water-resistant transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive, plasticized vinyl chloride films have been found to be particularly suitable. A satisfactory adhesive mass is composed of polyisobutylene and other materials, according to Wing U.S. Patent 2,484,060, in which the opaque filler has been omitted or reduced to a point where it does not overly interfere with the transparency of the mass when applied. Other transparent pressure-sensitive adhesives based on other elastomers or elastomer combinations may be used.

The opaque markings are preferably printed onto the transparent backing using a vinyl base ink. A suitable ink, for example, is a solution of vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride copolymer containing an iron oxide pigment blended with a small amount of carbon black to give the desired color shade.

The printing is preferably on the same side of the transparent backing as the adhesive mass so that the colored markings are viewed through the transparent backing when the bandage is worn. The printing should therefore be applied first and the adhesive mass then applied `over the printed surface after suitable priming. Although this is the preferred form of the present invention, the invention is not limited thereto but includes modifications in which the colored markings are on the upper side.

In view of the foregoing disclosures, variations or modifications thereof will be apparent, and it is intended to include within the invention all such variations and modifications except as do not come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. An adhesive bandage having markings placed relative to clear areas so that the color of a surface below the clear areas appears to the eye to blend with the color of the markings to make the bandage less conspicuous when worn, said adhesive bandage comprising a ilexible transparent backing, a pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive on one side of said Ibacking, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive-faced side, said backing having a plurality of visible flesh-colored markings providing alternate clear and ilesh-colored areas, said markings in width not exceeding 1%; inch and the distance between adjacent markings not exceeding 1A inch.

2. An adhesive bandage of claim 1 wherein the fleshcolored markings are intermittent.

3. An adhesive bandage of claim 2 wherein the fleshcolored markings are dots.

4. An adhesive bandage of claim l wherein the exposed portion of the ilexible backing has a dull finish.

S. An adhesive bandage of claim 4 wherein the markings are on the adhesive-containing face of the exible backing.

6. An adhesive bandage having markings placed relative to clear areas so that the color of a surface below the clear areas appears to the eye to blend with the color of the markings to make the bandage less conspicuous when worn, said adhesive bandage comprising a flexible transparent backing, a pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive on one side of said backing, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive-faced side, said backing having intersecting flesh-colored lines, said lines not exceeding 1A; inch in width and the spacing between lines not exceeding 1A inch.

7. An adhesive bandage of claim 6 wherein the intersecting lines are alternately heavy and light.

8. An adhesive bandage comprising a [flexible transparent backing, a pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive on one side of said backing, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive-faced side, said backing markings being so dispersed that the transparent and eshcolored areas are approximately equal.

9. An adhesive strip bandage comprising a :flexible transparent backing, a pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive on one side of said backing, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive-faced side, said backing containing a crosshatched pattern in a ileshcolored pigment, the flesh-colored lines forming the crosshatched pattern intersecting the longitudinal edges of the bandage at an angle of about said lines not exceeding 1/8 inch in width and the spacing between parallel lines of said crosshatched pattern not exceeding M1 inch.

10. An adhesive bandage comprising a ilexible transparent backing a pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive on one side of said backing, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive side, said backing containing crosshatched lines in flesh-colored pigment, the lines being spaced about ls to 174,2 of an inch and of such width that the transparent area between said lines is approximately equal to the area covered by said lines.

1l. An adhesive bandage comprising a ilexible transparent backing, a plurality of crosshatched flesh-colored lines printed on one side of said backing, a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on said printed side, an absorbent pad carried by said backing on said adhesive-coated side, said crosshatched lines being spaced about 1A; to (0,2 of an inch from each other and of such width that the transparent area between said lines is approximately equal to the area covered by said lines.

12. An adhesive bandage of claim ll wherein the backing face on the side opposite the absorbent pad has a dull iinish.

Connolly July 24, 1934 Bower Dec. 31, 1940 

